Former midfielder Fabrício recalls Corinthians exit, clash with Dualib | OneFootball

Brazilian champion with Corinthians in 2005, former defensive midfielder Fabrício recalled one of the episodes that marked his time at the club. In an interview with the program Vestindo Histórias, on Itatiaia, the former player shared details of the disagreement he had with then-president Alberto Dualib and explained how the episode ended up being decisive in his departure from Parque São Jorge.

According to Fabrício, the situation happened after a loss to Cruzeiro at Mineirão. On that occasion, he conceded a penalty during the match and, upon landing in São Paulo, was questioned by journalists about an alleged statement by Dualib, who had supposedly called for him to be removed from the team.

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Recalling the moment, the former defensive midfielder said he responded sarcastically and remembered the meeting with the executive shortly afterward.

“I arrived in São Paulo the next day and everyone came at me: the press... They said the president had said I had to leave the team. I said, ‘You have to take what the president is saying with a grain of salt. He’s old, relax.’ I left the airport straight with Betão, two other players from the team, and Antonio Lopes (the coach). I got there, and Dualib, poor guy, liked me, but what goes around comes around. I didn’t take disrespect home with me.”

During the interview, Fabrício also recalled that he was dealing with physical issues at the time and revealed that he had even asked not to play against Cruzeiro because he still was not fully fit. Even so, he was picked by coach Antônio Lopes and ended up conceding the penalty that marked that match.

“Nothing is by chance, but everything happens here. It was here at Mineirão, man. It was all this back and forth, with Lopes insisting that I play, and me lacking match fitness, asking not to play. I played. He put me in against Cruzeiro, and I was doing great. But because of the lack of match fitness, they crossed the ball in and I tried to control it inside the box to start the counterattack. But when I went to control it, the ball hit my arm. Penalty. It was my third penalty. I had already conceded one against Palmeiras and another against São Paulo.”

Fabrício explained that Alberto Dualib later denied making the statement reported by the press. Even so, the atmosphere behind the scenes had already deteriorated, and the midfielder ended up no longer being used by Corinthians until the end of the season, despite the support he received from the squad and coaching staff.

“‘I didn’t say that,’ he told me. I replied, ‘Come on, president, then I fell into their trap. The guy said...’ He was red. I thought he was going to have a heart attack, that there would be a problem. He wanted to sideline me, but the group backed me. Lopes said it would affect the locker room. They took me to every game, but it was decided that I wouldn’t play. That was the end of my story at Corinthians.”

Fabrício played for Corinthians between 2001 and 2005. During his time at the club, he won the 2002 Copa do Brasil, the 2002 Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the 2003 Paulista Championship, and the 2005 Brazilian Championship. After leaving Timão, the former defensive midfielder built a standout career at Cruzeiro, where he played between 2008 and 2011 and became one of the Minas Gerais club’s fan favorites.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.